July 2, 2021

2021 Major Public Acts Report

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HARTFORD – The nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research (OLR) has compiled its annual report of “Major Public Acts.” This report provides summaries of all the new laws that will result in significant policy changes. These changes could impact you, your family, business, or our community. I encourage you to review the document in its entirety.

Click here to view the report.

The report is broken down into several categories. Below are some excerpts from the report which outline some of the significant policy changes:

Property Tax Relief

A new law expands eligibility for the local option Elderly Tax Freeze Program by decreasing the program’s minimum age requirement from 70 to 65 years. But the act allows a municipality, by vote of its legislative body, to set the program’s minimum age requirement at older than 65 years. A municipality that voted to limit program eligibility to individuals ages 70 and older prior to this date is not required to take another vote unless it seeks to lower the program’s minimum age requirement (PA 21-84, effective October 1, 2021, and applicable to assessment years beginning on and after that date).

New Restrictions on Electric Suppliers

A new law expands the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority’s (PURA) oversight of electric suppliers by authorizing PURA to condition a supplier’s license on terms the authority 2021-R-0106 June 30, 2021 Page 19 of 30 determines to be just and reasonable. For residential customers, the new law prohibits termination fees and early cancellation fees and deems any electric supplier contract null and void if it contains variable rates (PA 21-117, effective July 1, 2021).

Constitutional Amendment to Allow for Early Voting

The legislature adopted a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the General Assembly to provide by law for in-person, early voting before an election or referendum. In 2019, an identical resolution passed by a majority of each house of the General Assembly but less than three-fourths; it was thus referred to the 2021 session (RA 21-1, which will appear on the November 8, 2022, general election ballot).